The following contains spoilers for Episode 10 of Komi Can’t Communicate Season 2, “It’s Just Valentine's Day,” now streaming on Netflix.
Class 1-1 formed new bonds whilst on their trip to Kyoto, however, most of them seem uncertain if these new connections are long-lasting and still relevant in the school setting. Komi has a mini-panic attack when trying to assess the situation, as the girls appear to be avoiding each other, but the boys have no issues at all (no surprise considering how well acquainted they got).
All this extra nervous tension among the classmates could be attributed to the fact that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, and declarations of love and friendship are inevitably on everyone’s mind during this love-obsessed episode of Komi Can't Communicate.
“It’s Just Valentine’s Day”
Nene Onemine is an observant one and probably realizes that Komi will need a slight push if she is planning on expressing her feelings on Valentine’s Day. She decides to lend a helping hand by inviting Komi to her house after school, so they can prepare for the following day, and Kaede eagerly jumps on board.
Tadano is not-so-subtly prohibited from joining (which gets his brain working overtime in anticipation.) Once at Onemine place, the girls are suddenly bombarded by her three kid siblings, who are excited to have new people to harass. After Komi gets a paddywhack to the bottom and the nickname of “Scary Sis”, she joins her friends in the kitchen as they start their preparations on a luxurious chocolate cake.
Onemine is a pro at baking but refuses to do all the workload, and it soon becomes a group effort to get the cream stiffened up sufficiently. As with most children, Onemine's little siblings appear to possess no filter and pester Komi with uncomfortable questions regarding her inability to speak.
After hearing an explanation, the pair change Komi’s nickname to “Sis Shaa”, adorably unable to pronounce the word shy. The children encourage the girl to open up and speak, but as soon as she says a few words they lose interest, having accomplished their goal. Unfortunately, once the cake comes out of the oven, it is so delicious that the group of friends cannot resist, and every last crumb gets cleaned off the plate, leaving Komi to get creative with her Valentine’s gift plans.
The Big Event
After making an exorbitant amount of chocolates at home, Komi hovers around the lockers, hoping to sneak a parcel into Tadano’s compartment. However, it doesn’t take much for the girl to get scared off, and her paramour is quite disappointed to find his locker empty that morning.
Later, in the classroom, Najimi and Ren Yamai approach Komi with friendship offerings (including a particularly disturbing set of Ren-shaped chocolates) and receive homemade sweet treats in return. Throughout the day, Komi exchanges friendship chocolates with those she holds dear, and Tadano watches every interaction from afar, painfully forgotten and apparently not important enough to receive a parcel from Komi. The only person who seems to value his friendship is Katai, and according to Tadano, boys don’t count.
The other boys are fortunate enough to get some unexpected attention, as Chiarai Shigeo is the lucky recipient of a hand-delivered gift from none other than Ren Yamai, possibly containing the same narcissistic assortment of chocolates. Sonoda Taisei, on the other hand, is blessed by the heavens themselves when Omoharu Nakanaka dramatically hands over a box of chocolate bullets with the declaration that this is “the real deal.” Shinobino Mono tries his luck with Inaka Nokoko, who is clueless about the concept of Valentine's Day (which apparently isn't celebrated in the country) but is happy to share her strange snacks with him.
Psyche! The class delinquents pull the wool over viewers' eyes once again by sending their fantasies out into the universe, hoping to manifest some female attention in the process. Anyway, back to Tadano, who is at his wit's end when Katai receives chocolates from Komi while he is left empty-handed and feeling betrayed. Heartbroken and defeated, the poor boy gets home and crawls up into a ball of self-pity, having expected to at least have his friendship acknowledged by the Class Goddess. Thankfully, his sister Hitomi's 6th sense kicks into action, and she suddenly sends Tadano out into the night, in the dead of Winter, to buy her some ice cream.
Coincidentally (or not), Tadano leaves on his errand at the exact time Komi rocks up at his door and subsequently hits her in the face. Alarmed and confused, he asks Komi to join him at the park so they can chat without his family overhearing or interrupting. When questioned as to why she was at Tadano’s home, Komi gets all flustered and whips out a Committee Meeting Report from her bag, insisting that Najimi had asked her to pass it along. Her mission fulfilled, Komi promptly gets up to leave, and Tadano’s poor heart shatters even further. Komi appears to berate herself for losing courage and finally works up the nerve to interact with Tadano, but by then he is practically already at home. Frantic at missing her final chance, Komi races back to Tadano's place and screams out his name (loudly and proudly) to get his attention. The two end up having a full-on conversation, with Komi’s notebook neatly tucked away in her bag, useless for a change.
Budding Romance
Although Komi is clear that her gift to Tadano is given out of friendship, she ensures that he is aware that his chocolates are the best of the bunch, implying that she considers Tadano to be her closest companion. Tadano opens up about his feelings of disappointment for being left out and how significant her gesture is to him, promising to return the gesture on White Day, which prompts Komi to suddenly flee the scene, terrified to address the elephant in the room.
In Japanese culture, it is customary for the women to hand out tokens of affection on Valentine's Day, whereas the men reciprocate their feelings the following month on White Day. However, Katai was brave enough to break tradition and get involved in the gift-giving, so if Tadano felt so strongly about the issue, then why didn’t he plan to do anything for Komi himself, even if it were simply a symbol of their friendship? He of all people is well aware of Komi’s extreme anxiety, and putting her on the spot like that (even if it were all internally) is uncharacteristically insensitive of the boy. It seems that Tadano is not immune to the side effects of love, which generally turns one’s brain to mush.